Talk about taking the one element nearly every comic fan otherwise was excited about, and tossing it out the window. When Shane Black was hired on direct “Iron Man 3,” fans hoped that Marvel, known for making their presence heavily felt in every step of way, would at least concede to let the practically legendary writer — “Lethal Weapon” and “The Last Boy Scout” rank in his credits — shape the script. He’s already directed Robert Downey Jr. in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” a comeback vehicle for both of them, so it seemed like an no brainer. And earlier this month, Black told an audience at the Omaha Film Festival that he would be writing the script. Guess no one at Marvel got the memo.
Drew Pearce has now been tasked with the gig, and he’s right in the Marvel pocket. He penned the screenplay for the since shelved “Runaways” film that had Peter Sollet set to direct, and he’s also known for his work on the U.K. superhero series “No Heroics.”
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Pearce is already familiar with Marvel and how they operate and even though Black will be “closely working” with the writer, it’s still not the same thing and not much of a consolation.
No reason is given as to why Black won’t take his hand to the material. We’d wager that he doesn’t want to lose focus on the handful of other projects he has in development including “Doc Savage” for Sony and “Death Note” for Warner Bros. Still, it’s a bit of bummer and if you’re hiring Shane Black for a movie and he’s not writing it…what are you hiring him for?
“Iron Man 3” will hit on May 3, 2013. [Deadline]